Quote
Literary Style
Commentary
Additional Ideas
“The sea was quiet now, and swelled lazily in broad billows that melted into one another and did not break except on the beach in little foamy crests that coiled back like slow, white serpents” (pg.30)
Simile, Imagery, Personification,
Alliteration The author uses Personification and imagery to enhance the welcoming atmosphere of the sea. The water intrigues Edna, and the inviting scene enthralls her to swim for the first time. But she soon becomes overwhelmed by the grandeur of her experience and soon realizes she is not as courageous as she believed. This scene highlights the extent to which Edna would go to in order to “lose herself”.
“The voice of the sea speaks to
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the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.” (Pg. 15) Personification, Tone: Solemn, Imagery, Aesthetic style, Foreshadow. Edna’s feeling of exhilaration is best illustrated through the author’s aesthetic style. Words such as sensuous and embrace represent the comfort the sea offers Edna. Also the “voice” of the sea foreshadows Edna’s death at the end of the book. The words that begin this quote are repeated in verbatim when she swims away into the ocean and dies. “A tangle of sea smell and of weeds and damp, new-plowed earth, mingled with the heavy perfumes of white blossoms somewhere near, but the night sat lightly upon the sea and the land. There was no weight of darkness, there were no shadows. The white light of the moon had fallen upon the world like the mystery and the softness of sleep.” (30) Use of smell imagery Style: Connotative Semantic. Mood: Dreamy, peaceful Tone: evasive The author’s use of imagery magnifies the setting’s dreamy and peaceful atmosphere. There is a repetition in words that evoke the five senses such as ‘perfumes of white blossoms’ and ‘tangle of sea smell’. The quote symbolizes the vast beauty that surrounds the sea and the “sound” and “smell" of freedom that Edna thrives for. Symbolism-Music Quote Literary Style Commentary Additional Ideas “Edna was what she herself called very fond of music. Musical strains, well rendered, had a way of evoking pictures in her mind…When she heard it there came before her imagination the figure of a man standing beside a desolate rock on the seashore”. (pg.28) Sound Imagery, Tone: Intrigue Mood: Bewildered, dreamy.
The readers begin to see a different side of Edna in this scene; she is described as a hopeless romantic. Chopin invites the readers into the mind of the character and creates the atmosphere of bewilderment and dreams. Mademoiselle Reisz’s piano playing takes Edna on a deeply emotional journey as it unleashes Edna’s inner passions.
“The music grew strange and fantastic-turbulent, insistent, plaintive and soft with entreaty. The shadows grew deeper. The music filled the room. It floated out upon the night, over the housetops, the crescent of the river, losing itself in the silence of the upper air" (Pg.69)
Sound Imagery, Personification
Mood: Sullen,
Vignette
The author describes music like an adventure. It is demonstrated exquisitely with personification and allows the reader to visualize the movement and beauty of its sound. It also serves a purpose laying in out Edna’s development as a character. She reaches a point in her life when she is able to hear what a piece of music means to her rather than just solely listening to it and enjoying
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it. “The mandolin players had long since stolen away. A profound stillness had fallen upon the broad, beautiful street. The voices of Edna’s disbanding guests jarred like a discordant note upon the quiet harmony of the night.” (pg.99) Simile, Imagery, Mood: Calm Edna’s feeling of despair is quietly demonstrated in this quote through Imagery. By the end of the dinner party she is caught off-guard by the song Victor sings and becomes isolated in her deep emotions. The last sentence claims that the disbanding of guests jarred like a discordant note. By the end, Edna feels that she has ruined what would have been a perfect night into that of a desolate one because of her sorrow. Gender Roles Quote Literary Style Commentary Additional Ideas “ The acme of bliss, which would have been a marriage with a tragedian, was not for her in the world. As the devoted wife of a man who worshipped her, she felt would take her place with a certain dignity in the world of reality, closing the portals forever behind her upon the realm of romance and dreams” (Pg. 20) Poetic style, Invective tone. Narrative Chopin uses an invective tone in order to assess the stereotypical gender role. She explains that Edna does not fit the normal role of a wife and mother. The character herself sees that at this point she is not able to move forward with her life unless she shuts down her dreams of having a romantic life with another. “In short, Mrs.
Pontellier was not a mother-woman. The mother woman seemed to prevail that summer in Grand Isle. It was easy to know them. They were woman who idolized their children and worshipped their husbands, and esteemed themselves as individuals and grew wings as ministering angels.” (Pg. 9)
Invective tone.
Narrative
Elements of Realism and Romanticism The author juxtaposes realism with romanticism. She narrates Edna’s point of view claiming that she was not and never will be the “caring” and “affectionate” soul that a woman is to her family especially the children. She criticizes realism because it conforms to a conventional worldview rather than an individualistic one. The appearance of a “happy” family exemplifies realism, which in the eyes of Edna is characterized as uninviting.
“…Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her.”(Pg. 15)
Tone: Confident.
Mood: Enlightened.
Feministic elements. Edna’s feeling of confidence is highlighted as the author uses feministic beliefs to allude to the character’s “awakening”. The author points out that Edna is unique in her willingness to embark on the journey of self-expression and discovery. The character begins to open up not just to herself but to readers as well, who begin to see her in a different
light. How Conventionality Is Challenged Quote Literary Style Commentary Additional Ideas “Leonce go to bed, she said. I mean to stay out here. I don’t wish to go in, and I don’t intend to. Don’t speak to me like that again; I shall not answer you” (Pg.35) Defiance, Elements of Feminism, Strong forceful language In this scene, Edna defies her husband and refuses to go inside to sleep. Even though this angers him a little, she decides it’s her own right to do what she wants to do. The scene is significant because it becomes the first step in which Edna decides to leave behind the orders of a man and establish her own rules as a woman. This defiance is later repeated later on the novel when she decides to move out of the house and stay in her own home. “Mrs. Pontellier was quite sure Raoul had no fever. He had gone to bed perfectly well…. She soon came back and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning her head down on the pillow. She said nothing, and refused to answer her husband when he questioned her”. (Pg. 7) Defiance, Elements of Feminism, Strong forceful language Edna’s feeling of indifference is illustrated through her defiance. In the beginning she is seen as distant and reserved. Her feelings as a mother and wife are well supported by this event. The readers also see that she and her husband are not well emotionally connected as she and Robert are. “When Mr. Pontellier learned of his wife intention to abandon her home and take up her residence elsewhere, he immediately wrote her a letter of unqualified disapproval and remonstrance. She had given reasons, which he was unwilling to acknowledge as adequate. He hoped she had not acted upon her rash impulse; and he begged her to consider first, foremost, and above all else what people would say.” (Pg. 102) Defiance, Elements of Feminism, Tone/Mood: Liberating. This is the first scene where Mr. Pontellier is seen more of as the stereotypical man wanting his wife to come back to him because he is afraid of people might think. He is no different than the other men who are married and have children. Edna leaving him becomes a pivotal point for her as a woman because during that time it was not normal to move out of the house and live on your own. She finds it liberating and free; feelings that all women should have.
Kate Chopin uses characterization to help you understand the character of Edna on how she empowers and improves the quality of life. Edna becomes an independent women as a whole and enjoys her new found freedom. For example, Chopin uses the following quote to show you how she begins enjoying her new found freedom.”The race horse was a friend and intimate association of her
The relationship Edna has with Mademoiselle Reisz guides her transformation from a wife and mother to a single woman. Reisz acts as a role model for her, someone who does not conform to society’s expectations. Mademoiselle Reisz lives how she wants and accepts both positive and negative consequences of her lifestyle. From the first time Edna sees her play, she admires Mademoiselle Reisz. “The woman, by her divine art, seemed to reach Edna’s spirit and set it free” (623). The music she plays helps calm Edna’s spirit. Mademoiselle Reisz allows Edna to read the letters Robert wrote to her and she supports her in her decision to follow her heart and be with Robert. In doing so, she kindles the passionate flame Edna has for Robert. As Edna wishes t...
Though these two explanations provide equal merit, they are too different for the reader to come to any fully supported conclusion of the novel. On one hand the main character is a strong independent artist who refuses conformity. On the other, the main character is a basket case and the nature of her awakening is complete self absorbed. It seems likely that the author intended to create juxtaposition in the two different interpretations of Edna’s character
For Edna, the times that Reisz plays are times when she "take[s] an impress of the abiding truth" and realizes her true desires(p.34). When Edna visits her, Reisz first improvises at the instrument and then plays the Impromptu which itself has original and adventurous themes. Through music Edna realizes the importance of being self-actualized and making choices. She again feels the same as that night when "new voices awoke in her"—when through music, the way to genuine freedom was revealed to her (p.84). However, having freedom comes with responsibility, which like giving birth to art, requires special skill. For Edna, the fantasies of freedom are transformed into reality wholly only in music and possibly the inability to acquire the skill to deal with her new emotions in life explains the dramatic conclusion to the journey and exploration of the passions that begin on the island.
In The Awakening, Chopin sets up two characters main characters and a subsidiary female character to serve as foils to Edna. The main characters are Adele Ratignolle, "the bygone heroine of romance" (888), and Mademoiselle Reisz, the musician who devoted her life to music, rather than a man. Edna falls somewhere in between the two, but distinctly recoils with disgust from the type of life her friend Adele leads: "In short, Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-woman." Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz, the two important female principle characters, provide the two different identities Edna associates with. Adele serves as the perfect "mother-woman" in The Awakening, being both married and pregnant, but Edna does not follow Adele's footsteps. For Edna, Adele appears unable to perceive herself as an individual human being. She possesses no sense of herself beyond her role as wife and mother, and therefore Adele exists only in relation to her family, not in relation to herself or the world. Edna desires individuality, and the identity of a mother-woman does not provide that. In contrast to Adele Ratignolle, Mademoiselle Reisz offers Edna an alternative to the role of being yet another mother-woman. Mademoiselle Reisz has in abundance the autonomy that Adele completely lacks. However, Reisz's life lacks love, while Adele abounds in it. Mademoiselle Reisz's loneliness makes clear that an adequate life cannot build altogether upon autonomy. Although she has a secure sense of her own individuality and autonomy, her life lacks love, friendship, or warmth. Later in the novel we are introduced to another character, her name is Mariequita. Mariequita is described as an exotic black-eyed Spanish girl, whom Edna looks upon with affectionate curiosity. Unlike the finely polished heroine, Mariequita walks on "broad and coarse" bare feet, which she does not "strive to hide". This strikes Edna with a refreshing sense of admiration. To her, the girl's soiled feet symbolize naked freedom, unconstrained by the apparel of civilization. Thus, Edna finds her rather beautiful. Mariequita is more like an unrefined version of Edna, that is, her instinctual self. At times, Mariequita ventures to express the thoughts that are secretly buried in Edna's unconscious.
When her husband and children are gone, she moves out of the house and purses her own ambitions. She starts painting and feeling happier. “There were days when she was very happy without knowing why. She was happy to be alive and breathing when her whole being seemed to be one with the sunlight, the color, the odors, the luxuriant warmth of some perfect Southern day” (Chopin 69). Her sacrifice greatly contributed to her disobedient actions. Since she wanted to be free from a societal rule of a mother-woman that she never wanted to be in, she emphasizes her need for expression of her own passions. Her needs reflect the meaning of the work and other women too. The character of Edna conveys that women are also people who have dreams and desires they want to accomplish and not be pinned down by a stereotype.
When Edna felt dissatisfied with the life she is given, she pursues other ways in which to live more fully. She attempts painting and enters into an affair with another man. As her desire for freedom grows, she moves out of her husband’s house and tries to live life as she sees fit. She lives a life reflecting her new philosophies towards life, philosophies that are in conflict with that of society. The oppression by man caused Edna to have a social awakening, illuminating the meaning of the novel.
As her interest in the ocean rises and the fear lowers, Edna begins to feel a sensual connection to the sea and its wonders. As Edna is progressing in her life, her senses begin to come alive out of curiosity and desire to understand this mystery of nature. Edna is first drawn to the ocean and the sight "made a delicious picture that I wanted to just sit and look at." (16) The two combined senses of taste and sight seem to pull Edna in the direction of her fear. As she creeps closer to t...
Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” is wrought with symbolism, foreshadowing and careful diction choices. Many of the passages throughout the novel embody Edna’s awakening sense of self-reliance, independence and sexuality. These are sy...
She begins by becoming “passionately enamored of a dignified and sad-eyed cavalry officer;” then “her affections were deeply engaged by a young gentleman who visited a lady on a neighboring plantation;” and finally, “the face and figure of a great tragedian began to haunt her imagination and stir her senses” (39). All of these figures are unattainable and, therefore, leave her discontented, yet she feels desire for them and so she feels passion, which to her is better than numbness. Chopin indicates that she needs something exciting, something beyond the ordinary routine of life. Edna wants to be “passionately enamored,” and have her affections “deeply engaged.”
Even from the land in the safety of her summer home, the sea has enticed and attracted her towards it. The presence and embrace of the sea is a constant acquaintance of Edna. In contrast, her husband frequents the club and has children who are unattended by her. The continual presence of the sea allows Edna to reflect on her life, such as seeing her image on the surface of water. “The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation.
Another aspects of the story is that once Edna’s awakening begins to take place, she is on a roller coaster of emotions, from the manic exuberance of listening to music and the sounds of the water, her connection to robert--it’s as though all her senses are opened up. Between times, however, she is really depressed, as though all the color that Chopin imparts so beautifully in the descriptions of the other scenes, has become dull and uninteresting. Then, she is flung into an emotional upheaval when she reads Robert’s letter to Mlle Reisz, as the latter plays Wagner. Clearly, these kinds of emotions cannot be borne by a woman whose cultural structure does not admit the building of her own that it might sustain the weight and number. She is overwhelmed. She must escape, and she does, for her situation now is powerfully reminiscent of the “joy that kills” in “Hour.”
The time Edna spends in water is a suspension of space and time; this is her first attempt at realizing Robert's impermanence. In a strange way, Edna is taking her self as an object of meditation, where at the extremity of self absorption, she should be able to see through her own selflessness. "As she swam she seemed to be reaching for the unlimited in which to lose herself[emphasis added]" (Chopin 74). Edna has left her earthly existence on the shore and looked forward to a new existence, with the "unlimited", or nirvana as a tantalizing prize on the other shore. Her mistake lies in looking back.
Unlike the other women of Victorian society, Edna is unwilling to suppress her personal identity and desires for the benefit of her family. She begins “to realize her position in the universe as a human being and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her” (35). Edna’s recognition of herself as an individual as opposed to a submissive housewife is controversial because it’s unorthodox. When she commits suicide it’s because she cannot satisfy her desire to be an individual while society scorns her for not following the traditional expectations of women. Edna commits suicide because she has no other option. She wouldn’t be fulfilled by continuing to be a wife and a mother and returning to the lifestyle that she...
The fact that Edna is an artist is significant, insofar as it allows her to have a sensibility as developed as the author's. Furthermore, Edna is able to find in Mlle. Reisz, who has established herself as a musician, a role model who inspires her in her efforts at independence. Mlle. Reisz, in confiding to Edna that "You are the only one worth playing for," gives evidence of the common bond which the two of them feel as women whose sensibilities are significantly different from those of the common herd. The French heritage which Edna absorbed through her Creole upbringing allowed her, like Kate Chopin herself, to have knowledge or a way of life that represented a challenge to dominant Victorian conventions.